Installing Windows - Still No Solution - Please Help!

[simontarr]

Hello All.

Since I've owned my iMac since last year, I've never been able to install Windows via bootcamp. Once it's installed and I restart my system to begin installation, the screen just goes black. That will be followed by about 15 minutes of CD drive activity then...silence.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's to do with the fact that my iMacs screen is unable to dim (I can only have it on 100% brightness).

So I'm just wondering, is there an alternative solution to installing Windows? I've recently brought myself a MacBook for university, so could this be used in the process?

I want to be able to run a few games in Windows, so can't really use the MacBook for that, which is why I need to find a solution to get it working on the iMac.

My years warranty has run out and because I'm a student, I just didn't have the money to buy AppleCare. I could have probably had my computer sent away, but it was vital that I had a machine to do my work on, and couldn't afford to have it sent away for repair.

Does anyone have any idea how I can accomplish this? Any help would be fantastic, because I've been trying for a year thus far and still can't find a solution...

Cheers,

Si

 

[reflex]

First thing to check is that you're installing either Vista, or Windows XP with service pack 2.

Windows XP without service pack 2 won't work.

 

[simontarr]

First thing to check is that you're installing either Vista, or Windows XP with service pack 2.

Windows XP without service pack 2 won't work.

I'm installing XP, and it's definitely SP2.

Si

 

[dops7107]

Try doing it via Parallels/Fusion. Won't be native, but it will be a start.

 

[simontarr]

Try doing it via Parallels/Fusion. Won't be native, but it will be a start.

I've been using Fusion, and it's really useful, but I want to be able to play a few games. Nothing mad like Oblivion, but I really enjoy my city building type games. I've got City Life for PC....do you think I could run this on the MacBook under bootcamp? I'm not overly interested in getting max graphics settings at 900 fps, but if it's playable, that's all I care about.

 

[kwood]

What type of iMac do you have?

You could also try resetting the PRAM, and the SMC.

 

[simontarr]

What type of iMac do you have?

You could also try resetting the PRAM, and the SMC.

It's the Early 2006 model, Core Duo.

Sorry, I forgot to mention in the original post that I had already tried resetting the PRAM and SMC, thanks for the suggestion though.

I've tried hundreds of things already, so I'm just looking for an alternative solution. Bootcamp will create the partition fine, so is there a way of installing XP on my MacBook, then copying all the files straight into my iMac XP partition? Would this work?

Cheers,

Si

 

[reflex]

I think your best bet is to tell Apple about it. Bootcamp is after all still in beta, so I'm sure they'd love the feedback if this is a bug.

 

[simontarr]

I think your best bet is to tell Apple about it. Bootcamp is after all still in beta, so I'm sure they'd love the feedback if this is a bug.

Yeah I might as well I suppose. I've never come across someone else having this problem yet, which is what puzzles me. I'm almost 100% sure it's because my screen doesn't dim anything below full brightness, but I can't confirm this. (Does anyone know if their screens dim a notch or two when a Windows install starts?)

 

[kwood]

Yeah I might as well I suppose. I've never come across someone else having this problem yet, which is what puzzles me. I'm almost 100% sure it's because my screen doesn't dim anything below full brightness, but I can't confirm this. (Does anyone know if their screens dim a notch or two when a Windows install starts?)

I have installed Vista and Windows multiple times through Boot Camp, the screen has never dimmed at all for me. At least not that I noticed.

 

[simontarr]

I have installed Vista and Windows multiple times through Boot Camp, the screen has never dimmed at all for me. At least not that I noticed.

I've just started an install on my MacBook, and it didn't dim either...maybe that isn't the problem then..

This is so infuriating haha All I want to do is play a few games on my iMac <sobs>

 

[asr7b]

I am having the same problem with my mac book pro. I know I can partition it with windows because I did so last year but was unsatisfied with a corrupt installation disk. I deleted it. Now that I have a legit windows xp pro installation disk and a requirement to have windows for a modeling and rendering class I have attempted to partition it again but the blank screen is not letting me install windows. It can not be the disk because a friend did it before me and it worked fine on his new macbook.